Two top tens for Husqvarna at Silverstone
31/08/2014Danny Kent and Niklas Ajo fought to the last lap in an intense race long battle, finishing the twelfth championship round in ninth and tenth respectively.
The Moto3 race weekend at Silverstone played out similarly to the previous round in Brno (Czech Republic), featuring a large group of fifteen riders fighting a race long battle for the podium. Both Danny Kent and Niklas Ajo were amongst the challengers, eventually crossing the line in ninth and tenth places respectively and adding valuable general classification points to their totals.
Kent and Ajo gained one and two positions respectively in the first of seventeen scheduled laps of the British GP. Both Husqvarna riders moved to the front after good starts, contending in the lead group for the majority of the race which included up to fifteen riders battling for the front positions.
And just as in Brno two weeks ago, the fight at the front featured continuous overtaking, often with two and three riders involved until the final five laps where the intense group allowed four riders to escape. In the end, Kent and Ajo crossed the finish line in the ninth and tenth positions, just five seconds behind the winner.
The paddock travels next to southern Europe, specifically San Marino, where the next Moto3 race will be held on September 14th. The Husqvarna riders will arrive in Misano with the Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo rider tenth in the championship with 73 points, and the Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo fourteenth overall with 45 points.
Results – Race
1. Alex Rins (Honda) 38:11.330
2. Alex Marquez (Honda) +0.011
3. Enea Bastianini (KTM) +0.072
4. Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra) +0.123
5. Jakub Kornfeil (KTM) +4.600
9. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) +5.659
10. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) +5.671
Moto3 World Championship Standing 2014
1. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 179 points
2. Alex Marquez (Honda) 166 points
3. Alex Rins (Honda) 150 points
4. Efren Vazquez (Honda) 145 points
5. Romano Fenati (KTM) 135 points
10. Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) 73 points
14. Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) 45 points
Danny Kent >> Audio (solely for radio use)
“Ninth position is good, but because it’s my home Grand Prix, I’m a little disappointed. We wanted to fight for the podium, but still we were only four seconds back. For some reason, the temperature of the bike was really high and this made for an even more difficult race. We made an effort over the weekend to find a better top speed, because this is where we were losing compared to other riders. Now we have to sit down and see where we can improve. We hope we can have a repeat performance of Brno when we go to Misano in two weeks.”
Niklas Ajo >> Audio (solely for radio use)
“It was a tough battle. We suffered a bit with the top speed, but we improved from Brno. It was difficult to overtake because everyone wanted to take advantage of the slipstream. Anyway, I’m happy with the race we had, but I’m not happy with my final position. There were lots of people stuck in the fight and in the end you equally win or lose. I’m also happy for the team, the way everyone worked together. Now for the next race we will try to improve our position. We were with the front group the whole time, so we only need to stay there.”